Happy 25th Anniversary to Karen Clark Sheard’s debut solo album Finally Karen, originally released November 4, 1997.
Gospel and R&B have always been forbidden to touch, which is probably why they can’t keep their hands off of each other. Historically, the genres affect each other despite faith cultures working to keep them separate. In the ‘80s, major labels were able to score respectable mainstream hits with church-trained vocalists like Vanessa Bell Armstrong, Tramaine Hawkins, and notably The Clark Sisters whose “You Brought The Sunshine” bounced right out of the pews onto dance floors in 1981.
The boosted profile of these singing siblings meant more recording and touring. When their leader (and creative powerhouse) Twinkie Clark took a hiatus from the group before the creation of Miracle (1994), this pushed youngest sister Karen Clark Sheard reluctantly out front with her agile, charismatic soprano. In truth, she’s always been on the radar of discerning R&B hitmakers. Mariah Carey, Beyoncé, Fantasia, and SWV have all drawn influence from the Clark dynasty.
When Sheard signed with Island Black Music, those same acts were lined up to sing the praises of her solo debut Finally Karen. This project revealed Sheard’s artistic vitality while propelling her family’s musical legacy into a new phase of relevance and renown. The disc is uniquely bisected, first presenting its studio work with Milton Thornton, Kowan "Q" Paul, Stanley Brown, and PAJAM, a production duo consisting of Paul D. Allen and Sheard’s blood cousin J. Moss.
The result was packed full of slick soul that deftly blurs the line between sacred and secular. For instance, on “Nothing Without You,” it can be daunting to tell Faith Evans’ voice apart from Sheard’s. Both naturally similar in tone, they function as an allegory for how closely related R&B and gospel can be.
Few people understand this like J. Moss whose contributions took center stage on Finally Karen, modernizing Sheard’s gem of a voice. Among them is “Praise Festival,” ornamented with just enough of Craig Mack’s “Flava In Ya Ear” to make its evangelism “cool.” The Jeep-friendly swing of “Unconditional (Mad Love)” is almost sensual in its earnest devotion. “Gotta Right” stirs plenty vocal scatting into the already rich bouillabaisse of Sheard’s personal style. This collaboration would form a template many artists would replicate for the next decade plus.
Listen to the Album:
Though Finally Karen is more gospel than fusion, it’s mixed to hit the ear like contemporary R&B. The heart of this set is its live-recorded latter half, as the most stirring elements of Sheard’s appeal may elude studio capture. She needs a platform and a live crowd to respond to; it brings out the best in her. Feeling at home supported by producers Donald Lawrence and Cedric Thompson, as well as Lawrence’s mighty Tri-City Singers, Sheard barrels through compositions like “Heaven” and the testimonial “Couldn’t Tell It If I Tried” that display her imposing vocal expanse.
Sheard’s delivery is anything but staid throughout. Every moment is alive, her phrases imbued with meaning, each lick assigned a purpose. Whether brandishing quiet control on the reverential “A Praying Spirit” or letting “Holy, Thou Art Holy” wax majestic, Sheard displays a facility that reaches beyond music, her performance an audible outcropping of her lifelong faith.
Old becomes new on “Jesus Is A Love Song” and the easy grooving “Balm In Gilead,” both significantly reworked from The Clark Sisters’ breakthrough Heart and Soul (1986). Twinkie Clark, Dorinda Clark Cole, and Jacky Clark Chisholm join her on the former with spectacular results. Inimitable as they are, singers still try to keep up with their jazz-like embellishments for sport. To merely mimic their signature growls, chitters, and melodic turns requires training that separates the pupils from the professionals.
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As certainly as they take deep breaths before belting, The Clark Sisters always honor their gospel impresario mother Mattie Moss Clark. Under her tutelage, a teenage, unmarried Karen Clark recorded “The Will of God” at Bailey Cathedral in Detroit, Michigan in 1978. Even then, her fledgling voice was startlingly mature. Finally Karen was recorded at the selfsame Detroit cathedral, and closes by recreating that moment masterfully with Sheard and her 9-year-old daughter Kierra. One can hear the audience jumping out of their seats as Sheard guides her child through call and response passages like a lioness teaching her cub to hunt. Kierra follows every leap and bound preternaturally until her mother unleashes the type of roar the daughter can’t begin to imitate.
Although Finally Karen is in a class by itself, it had to go head to head in 1998 with work from heavy-hitters Yolanda Adams, Fred Hammond, CeCe Winans, and eventual winner Kirk Franklin for the Best Contemporary Soul Gospel GRAMMY. Sheard did win a Lady of Soul Award for Best Gospel Album though, and Kierra Sheard also picked up a much-deserved Stellar Award for Best Children’s Performance.
Not long after its release, a health crisis almost kept Sheard from ever repeating this triumph. When she finally resurfaced with Second Chance (2002), it again found her rooted in the traditions of Black church and extending her hand to those outside its walls. Although religious doctrine has at times prohibited any overlap of the pious and profane, Sheard’s gift was destined to draw people in and it’s for the best. One cannot change the world if they’re scared to touch it, but Finally Karen proved Sheard to be fearless.
LISTEN: